Creeper for tractor belts



Oct. 25, 1938. E. F. JUNGER I GREEPER FOR TRACTOR BELTS Filed Dec. 20,1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor:

Edwi.

Oct. 25, 1938. E. F. JUNGER CREEPER FOR TRACTOR-BELTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Dec. 20, 1937 inventor-g gel? B5 Edwin F Jun.

Kttorneas,

Another object is to provide a'construction'an. ranged for securelyattaching thecalkssothat they will not be liableto drop out butnevertheless". to be readily removed when- Patented Oct. 25, 1938 UNITEDSTATES My invention relates to creepers for tractor belts, and an objectin general is to provide a device of this character which is notonlysimple and cheap to manufacture, but is also very effi cient inoperation to prevent slipping and skidding when the tractor is runningover ice and hard packed snow. Another object of the invention is toprovide a creeper embodying a plurality of calks, all of which haveprovision for positively securing them in fixedposition sothat therewill beno liability of the calks turning intoa lesser effective positionwhenfthe tractor is being used,

will allow the calks ever desired.

The 'full'objects and advantages of f m'y inveiii tion will appear inconnection with the detailed description. and the novel ieatures of.,myinvert-M tive idea will be particularly pointed out in the claims,

In the accompanying drawing s which illustrate] some of the formsinwhich my invention may be.

embodied-- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a concrete exampleof j the inventionapplied to a tractor belt.

Fig. 2 is a view in central longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is a view of one of the calks on the line 3--3'of Fig. 2. i

Fig. 4 is a plan View of a modified form of conof construction.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of still another modified "form of construction.

Fig. '7 is a view in transverse section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

My creeper is intended for attachment to an endless tractor belt ofsuitable construction which a as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 consists ofa plurality one for each end portion of the grouser and integraltherewith and provided with strengthening ribs 2i! connecting with thegrouser portion l6 as will be understood from Fig. 1. Each plate I8 isprovided with two holes through which are passed .to the tractor belt.

bolts 22 also passed through holes in the corresponding links I 0whereby the shoe portion is securel'y attached to the tractor belt. Theouter surface of the grouser l6. as shown in Figs. 2

and 3 is provided with a central depression 24. which tapers inwardly asindicated' at 25. From theinner wallof this ,clepression a hole extendsthrough the body of the grouser, the junction of this hole with theinner wall-of the depression being rounded as indicated at 26. A calk28. is provided with a screw threaded 'shank' '3h which after beingpassed" through the central hole in the grouser is secured in place by'a.v nut 32. The inner portion of the calk ZB'istap'ered as indicated at34 to correspondwith or fit, the taper at 25. The junction'oi theshank'M with the. calk 28 is in the form of a fillet36-which is sol curved asto leave a slight space between it and the rounded surface. 26'.therebypreventi'ng binding at this place whenlthe taper 34. is drawninto-- a the taper 25. Itwill be noted from Fig. 2 that' the calk 28tapers outwardly so as to-be'lof. lesser.

thickness at its outer end,v while fromv Fig. 3, it is apparent. thatthe transverse dimension of the" calk is materially greater than itsthickness. so

that thecalk extend's transversely of. the tractor.

belt asindicate'd inFigi LL Fromthisf figure,.it .1 is alsoapparent'thatthe two lateral portions of. the' grouser fare v inclinedand provided with calks 38 and 40 which are like the calk Zitand held indepressions similar to the depression 24 in the outer surface .of thegrouser. The diiference is that the two calks 38 and 40 are set atanglewith relation to a transverse line of the tractor belt so that theyare inclined to the transverse calk 28 It will be understood" that aplurality of these devices aresecured around the tractor belt.

In themodification shown in Fig. 4, I employ a plurality of combinedshoe and grouser devices each of which consists of a shoe portion 42 anda grouser portion 44. The shoe portion includes two plates 46 one foreach end portion of the grouser and integral therewith and provided withstrengthening ribs 48 connecting with the grouser portion 44. Each plate46 is provided with two 4 holes all designated 50 and through which arepassed bolts similar to the bolts 22 for securing In this form of theinvention, the grouser portion 44 instead of having inclined endportions extends straight across trans:- versely. Two calks 52 and 56are attached to the grouser in a manner to that already described. thedifference being that the two calks as shown are aligned so as to extendstraight across transversely of the tractor belt. This form of theinvention may be used alone, or may be combined with the form shown inFig. 5. The latter form shows a combined shoe and grouser device. Theshoe portion includes two plates 58 one for each end portion of agrouser 60 and integral therewith and provided with strengthening ribs62. Each plate 58 is provided with two holes all designated 64 andthrough which are passed bolts similar to the bolts 22 for securing tothe tractor belt. In this case, the grouser 60 is shown considerablyshorter than the grouser 44 and is provided with two depressions forreceiving calks 66 and 68 in manner similar to that previouslydescribed.

When this form of the invention is employed, it is preferably used inconjunction with the form shown in Fig. 4, the two forms being arrangedin alternation around the tractor belt. As just indicated these twoforms may be. attached around the belt in spaced relation so thatarranged in sequence, there will be first one form and then the otherform and so on around the belt. It is to be noted however that the twocalks 6E and 68 are so disposed that they will be positioned instaggered relation to the calks 52 and 54.

The form shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is similar to that shown in Figs. 1, 2and 3, the main difference being that the shoe and grouser portions areconstructed separately instead of integrally. As shown in Figs. 6 and'7, there is a shoe portion Ill having two plate members I2 eachprovidedwith two holes all designated 14. Bolts '56 are passed through theseholes and through holes in the links of the tractor belt. A grouserpor-- tion 18 is secured to the shoe portion 10 by bolts 80. The grouser18 has three calks 82, 84 and 85 secured. thereto with the sameconstruction and arrangement described in detail in connection withFigs. 1, 2 and 3. V V

The operation and advantages of my invention will be readily understoodin connection with the foregoing description and the accompanyingdrawings. Turning of the calks out of their most effective position ispositively prevented and the calks are very firmly secured in place byproviding the outer surface of the grouser with inwardly tapereddepressions into which the tapered margins of the calks are drawn byforce applied to.

the shanks of the calks. The device is of particular utility forattachment to. tractors of the track laying type when used for clearingheavy snow and ice from streets and highways. The calks may be readilyremoved when it is not desired to use them in connection with tractorswhich are being run over surfaces which are not slippery. The calks mayalso be readily removed for replacement purposes.

I claim:

1. A creeper for tractor belts comprising a shoe, means for detachablysecuring said shoe to the belt, a grouser carried by the shoe, the outersurface of said grouser being provided with inwardly tapered depressionsand the body of the grouser being provided with holes which extendinwardly from the respective depressions, the outer mar- I gins of saidholes being rounded, calks having inner margins tapered to fit saidtapered depressions, shanks carried by the inner surfaces of said calksand extending respectively through said holes, fillets on said shanks atthe junction thereof with said calks, said fillets being so curved as toleave a slight space between them and said rounded margins, and meansfor applying force to said shanks to draw the tapered margins of saidcalks into engagement with the tapered surfaces of said depr-essions andto detachably secure said shanks in said holes.

2. A creeper for tractor belts comprising a shoe, means for detachablysecuring said shoe to the belt, a grouser carried by the shoe, the outersurface of said grouser being provided with inwardly tapered depressionsand the body of the grouser being provided with holes which extendinwardly from the respective depressions, said depressions including acentral elongated depression extending transversely with relation, tothe belt and including elongated depressions in the lateral portions ofthe grouser extending at an angle with relation to a transverse line ofthe belt, calks having inner margins tapered to fit said tapereddepressions, shanks carried by the innersurfaces of said calks andextending respectively through said holes, and means for applying forceto said shanks to draw the tapered surfaces of said calks intoengagement with the tapered surfaces of said depressions and todetachably secure said shanks in said holes.

EDWIN F. JUNGER.

